Many Manufacturing Employees Still Not Getting Trained

Nearly one-third of frontline employees do not receive any formal workplace training, a number that has remained stagnant year over year, according to a new study, "State of Frontline Workplace Training Study," released recently by Axonify and Ipsos.

“The frontline employee is often an under-supported segment of the workforce,” said Carol Leaman, CEO of Axonify.

​​​​​In manufacturing and logistics, 37% only receive training a few times per year and that training is only 58% effective. Additionally, 34% of manufacturing employees said they are trained on the wrong things that don’t help them do their jobs.

The main highlights from the research include:

Reskilling and Upskilling

According to the World Economic Forum, more than half of the world's workforce will need significant reskilling by 2023.

While there is much uncertainty around how frontline jobs will evolve and what skills will be required to perform these new jobs, the research clearly demonstrated that employees are anticipating these changes and want training that prepares them for what lies ahead.

● More than three-quarters (76%) of employees feel the opportunity to complete additional training designed to develop their skills for the future would make an employer (present or prospective) more appealing to them.

● Future-focused development is especially valued by those starting out their career, with nine out of ten Millennials (89%) saying they are interested in future-focused training compared to 81% of Gen Xers and only 59% of Baby Boomers.

● Despite a healthy appetite for additional training that develops skills for the future, only 41% of employees say their employer offers this kind of development.

The study found 81% of employees believe training makes them feel more engaged (happy) at work. And 79% of participants feel that more frequent training would make them feel even more engaged.

Effective Training Techniques

Across industries, here are the additional top attributes the research discovered make training effective:

● The most desirable attribute for the third year in a row is training that is easy to complete and understand (91%).

● The ability to access information from anywhere, at any time is also important to employees (90%).

● Training that is personalized and relevant remains a top-ranked attribute (89%). Over the three-year history of this study, training that’s boring/not engaging consistently ranks as one of the top two reasons for ineffectiveness (91% in 2018).

● The ability to apply training on the job is also an important attribute (87%). It’s interesting to note that this was extremely important across the board—regardless of industry, age and employment status.

“Preparing the frontline workforce for the future is a win-win situation,” says Leaman. “Employees get the future-focused training they want and organizations build the future-proof workforce they need to ensure continued business success. The challenge for Human Resources and Learning and Development leaders will be to deliver training at scale so they can equip the modern frontline employee with the knowledge and skills they need to keep up with the pace of business.”